CHICAGO (February 26, 2015): Patients with larger malignant tumors of the breast who undergo chemotherapy before a breast cancer operation are more likely to opt for a breast-preserving procedure and forgo a mastectomy (surgical removal of the breast), according to a new study that will appear in JACS.

CHICAGO (February 19, 2015): Data from two standard diagnostic tests commonly obtained in children evaluated for abdominal pain—when combined—can improve the ability of emergency department physicians and pediatric surgeons to identify those patients who should be sent to the operating room for prompt removal of an inflamed appendix; those who may be admitted for observation; and those who may safely be discharged home, according to a new JACS study.

CHICAGO (February 18, 2015): Elderly patients who are admitted to the hospital for monitoring and surgical treatment of traumatic injuries could have better geriatric care if medical teams took one extra step—offering geriatric consultation, according to new research findings from surgical and geriatric medicine teams at the Ronald Reagan University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center.

In-Flight Blood Transfusions Increase Survival Rates and Improve Outcomes in Trauma Patients
CHICAGO (February 11, 2015): Air-lifted trauma victims who received blood transfusions in the helicopter before arriving at a trauma center had higher one-day survival rates and less chance of shock than air-lifted patients who did not receive blood transfusions until they arrived at the trauma unit, according to study findings in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

CHICAGO (February 9, 2015): Breast cancer patients who undergo a mastectomy should receive subsequent radiation treatment if their cancer has spread to four or more nearby lymph nodes, however, according to a new study, only 65 percent of these women are getting the recommended postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).[ACS quality program study]

CHICAGO (February 5, 2015 – 10 am CT): A new multidisciplinary approach to managing patients undergoing a colorectal operation results in shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and lower medical costs, according to research results published online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.[ACS NSQIP® data study]

CHICAGO (December 29, 2014): A tool that surgeons use for monitoring a patient’s blood level in physicians’ offices may also save valuable minutes in medical decision-making for critically injured trauma patients, according to study results published in the January 2015 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

CHICAGO (December 5, 2014): Malnutrition is an important factor predicting long-term survival in older patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) to treat benign tumors and cysts of the pancreas as well as pancreatitis, according to new study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.[ACS NSQIP® data study]

CHICAGO (November 26, 2014): A new guideline is available to help health care providers prevent and treat one of the most common postoperative complications in older patients, delirium, which is an episode of sudden confusion. The Clinical Practice Guideline for Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults was developed by the American Geriatrics Society, in collaboration with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and other organizations participating in the AGS Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative whose representatives participated in a multidisciplinary panel of experts.[ACS Continuous Quality Improvement collaboration]

CHICAGO (September 30, 2014): Using National Cancer Data Base data, researchers have found that the number of breast cancer patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction operations after mastectomy has grown steadily over the past 15 years, especially in women once considered high risk.

CHICAGO (September 3, 2014): Patients who underwent weight loss operations in recent years, when most bariatric surgical centers were accredited, had fewer postoperative complications and better survival rates than patients who had bariatric procedures performed before a national movement toward facility accreditation. These findings suggest that accreditation of bariatric surgery centers contributes to improved safety for patients who undergo weight loss operations and saves lives.

Surgical Treatment for Metastatic Melanoma of the Liver Increases Overall Survival in a Select Group of Patients
CHICAGO (June 30, 2014): Surgical resection markedly improves survival among metastatic melanoma patients whose disease is isolated to a few areas in the liver, according to new study findings published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. These results mark a departure for melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, that is most often considered fatal once it has spread to the liver and then, not amenable to surgical treatment.

Surgeons Report Fewer Postoperative Deep-Vein Blood Clots Using Risk-Based Preventive Measures
CHICAGO (June 2, 2014): Surgery patients are much less likely to get a blood clot in the lower extremities or lungs if they receive preventive treatment based on their individual clotting risk, in addition to walking soon after the operation. Results from a surgical quality improvement study, appearing in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, indicate that the odds of this common and potentially life-threatening postoperative complication steadily declined after the implementation of a multicomponent prevention program in a hospital’s department of surgery.

[ACS NSQIP® data study]

Medicaid Expansion Increases Use of Specialty Operations in the State of New York
CHICAGO (May 7, 2014): Researchers in the department of surgery at the University of Michigan have found that expanding access to Medicaid in New York State increased beneficiaries’ use of subspecialty surgical services. The study, published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, presents a model at the state level that shows expanding access to Medicaid successfully provided patients who did not have previous access to certain surgical procedures with access to these operations.

New Study Shows Florida’s Participation in Innovative ACS NSQIP Surgical Collaborative Resulted in Statewide Improvement
CHICAGO (April 2, 2014): A surgical collaborative of hospitals across Florida resulted in broad improvement in the state, helping most hospitals significantly improve, according to a new study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), the Florida Surgical Care Initiative (FSCI) was able to reduce complications by 14.5 percent. The study looks at a 15-month period from March 2011 to July 2012 in which it estimates that the program averted 165 complications, saved an estimated 89 lives, and avoided more than $6.6 million in health care expenses.

[ACS-NSQIP® data study]

Standards Developed for Children's U.S. Surgical Care
CHICAGO (March 3, 2014): The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has published new comprehensive guidelines that define the resources the nation’s surgical facilities need to perform operations effectively and safely in infants and children. The standards—published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons—also have the approval of the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Society of Pediatric Anesthesia. Representatives of these organizations as well as invited leaders in other pediatric medical specialties, known as the Task Force for Children’s Surgical Care, developed the consensus recommendations over the past three years.

[ACS quality initiative – pediatric surgery]

Police Training Begins to Control Bleeding at Mass-Casualty Shooting Events
CHICAGO (February 27, 2014): For almost a year now, surgeons and first responder organizations have been working to increase the number of survivors of an active shooter or mass casualty incident. An important part of this initiative requires all law enforcement officers to get medical training and equipment to control bleeding, a goal set forth by the Hartford Consensus, a collaborative group of trauma surgeons, federal law enforcement, and emergency responders, and driven by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Major Cities Chiefs Association and Prehospital Trauma Life Support program.

[ACS quality initiative – trauma care]

New Tool Shows Promise in Predicting Home Discharge
CHICAGO (February 3, 2014): Frequently predicted surgical outcomes primarily focus on adverse outcomes such as complications and death, but most patients also want to know about good outcomes, including whether they will return home after a surgical procedure, or, conversely, if they will need to prepare for a lengthy rehabilitation process at a care facility. Now, research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a new type of surgical risk calculator can accurately predict postoperative home discharge.